KOCHI: Sreelakshmi Menon was elated as she boarded the KSRTC bus from Madiwala to Thrissur. She had taken an extended leave for Maha Shivratri and planned to have a relaxed weekend at her home in Puranattukara, Thrissur.
"I was having a sound sleep and woke up to the shock of collision. I still don't know whether I woke up or lost my consciousness then," said the 25-year-old who works with Flipkart in Bengaluru, while recounting the bus tragedy that claimed 19 lives in the wee hours on Thursday.
"It was 3.40 am when I got out of the bus. One of the travellers was thrown out of the bus. Some who got out from the bus was sitting on the roadside. Luckily, I just had minor bruises on my head," she added.
Sreelakshmi sat in seat number 48 on the left side of the bus. She said that more than a frightening experience, what stayed with her was the utter state of helplessness people after the accident.
"Being dark, I didn't know what was happening after the collision. People were in different places. Many were crying out for help. Later I knew that many were taken out of the bus after breaking the side windows," she said.
Soon after getting out, she and three others were taken to Revathi Medical Centre, Tiruppur. First-aid treatment was given to her as she had minor injuries.
"The others were attended to as they were bleeding steadily. They asked me to leave at 4.30 am," Sreelakshmi said.
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Fortunately, her friend was staying near the hospital and her father picked up Sreelakshmi. She contacted her parents and her father reached by 10.30 am to pick her up.
"They knew about the magnitude of the accident only after seeing the photos and visuals. My father remained tensed until he saw me. I will undergo a check-up again when I reach Thrissur," said Sreelakshmi, who was on her way back to Thrissur, when The New Indian Express contacted her.
She has been flooded with phone calls after the news broke out.
"I didn't get time for myself till now. So the shock of the accident hasn't affected me badly till now. I don't know what will happen when I am left all by myself," she added.